Herman Cain has now put his Presidential aspirations on hold. I find this appalling. This situation rings as totally unfair; Herman did pay Gloria White off for his peccadilloes. Is there no honor among sinners? Of course, his explanation that they were just friends and that he was innocently helping her with her fiscal difficulties totally explains why she would come forth at this time to embarrass him. Obviously, next time, he has to up the ante; i.e. the sum he paid was insufficient for the lifestyle to which she aspired. And her timing was so poor; the public was just disposing of the previous sexual harassment allegations that had plagued the Cain campaign.
It seems that the problem with this country is that we want squeaky clean candidates. How boring! If they are that sterile, how much excitement are presidential aspirants going to bring to the White House. What is wrong with the American public?! Do we want to put the paparazzi and the National Inquirer out of business?!
Public office, particularly the presidency, has served as a field day for the incumbent with the wandering eye. Grover Cleveland and Warren Harding obviously were not Saints; they both had children out of wedlock. FDR and Lyndon Johnson are listed on websites as having extramarital affairs. And we have to give sufficient credit to Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings for setting a magnificent precedent, a plantation owner and a slave.
In 1988, Donna Brazile, author, professor and a Democratic political strategist, asked George H. W. Bush to “fess up” regarding his unsubstantiated extra-marital affairs. To quote Brazile, “The American people have every right to know if Barbara Bush will share that bed with him in the White House.”
Ms. Brazile does have a certain amount of credibility as one of the individuals instrumental in making Martin Luther King Day a national holiday.
And what a perfect candidate Bill Clinton would have been for “The Bachelor” if only he hadn’t been married! After denying his 12-year relationship with Gennifer Flowers until 1998, Clinton was forced to unveil his secret past as part of Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit, regarding their relationship when he was governor of Arkansas.
In the interim, in 1995, Clinton was continuing his wicked ways with 21-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Women around the U.S. were dismayed at Clinton’s promiscuity. Men were also upset; they couldn’t understand why anyone would select Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky with so many better options obviously available to a governor and a president. Exactly how many appointments with his optometrist did Bill Clinton miss?
In “The Secret Life Of Marilyn Monroe,” by J. Randy Taraborrelli, JFK’s alleged affair with Marilyn Monroe is portrayed from their first meeting, to their secret trysts in Palm Springs, to Marilyn’s obsession with JFK. References are made to JFK’s other indiscretions and Jackie Kennedy’s apparent knowledge of them. Let’s also consider that alongside the portraits of other presidential spouses, Jackie Kennedy clearly stands out. Now there is a president who clearly understood his power and position.
Perhaps, I may be a little naïve. I’m not looking for a squeaky clean candidate, but can I at least have one that is a little bit sanitary. If candidates were to own up to problems in their past, the public might forgive them. But the constant denials that seem inevitably to be revealed as blatant lies most certainly will result in failure. In 2007, John Edwards, a U.S. Senator and a Democratic candidate for president, finally admitted to an affair with Rielle Hunter but denied being the father of her child. In 2010, Edwards finally admitted he was the father of her child. He has now been indicted on charges of misusing campaign funds to cover up his affair. A once highly regarded presidential candidate is now living in the hole that he dug for himself.
Herman Cain is apparently a slow learner. Following Edwards’ formula for “success,” Cain has now crashed and burned. He will assuredly be followed by others. But please, let’s be optimistic. We still have Newt Gingrich as our national advocate for “family values” and a greater appreciation of our religious faith in public life. This is the same Newt Gingrich who has been divorced twice, both reportedly as a result of extramarital affairs.